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Food delivery start-up Swiggy said on Friday it was providing health care and financial access for its 125,000 delivery partners spread across 100 cities for over a year. The Bengaluru-based firm said it started the programme, Swiggy Smiles, after undertaking an in-depth exercise in understanding their needs and wishes.

The initiative focuses on their welfare, personal development, and motivation, and includes benefits ranging from on-call doctors to facilitating education loans at fair interest rates.

Swiggy, which raised $1-billion funding last December, said the programme had been a success, with more than 55,000 delivery partners having availed benefits.

“Delivering millions of orders each month, we believe that our delivery partners are the backbone of Swiggy,” said Sachin Kotangale, vice-president, operations. “Swiggy Smiles is a concrete step in our long-term vision of creating a marketplace that will provide them with best-in-class benefits.”

Rewards include exclusive vouchers and special privileges based on various parameters like frequency, order completion and their tenure of association. Till date, Swiggy’s delivery partners have availed benefits worth Rs 14 crore on a host of rewards such as shopping, education and upskilling, the company said.

Swiggy said it had tied up with the Bank of Baroda to facilitate easy access to bike loans for its delivery partners. The firm provides the bank with details such as credit history and earning capacity, helping partners secure loans swiftly and at competent rates, said the company.

Over the past year, Swiggy has facilitated securing personal loans worth more than Rs 3.7 crore for its delivery partners through Swiggy Smiles.

With life insurance, accident and medical insurance, the programme helps delivery partners deal with any emergency, said the company.

Last month, Swiggy’s rival Zomato also unveiled its first experience centre in Bengaluru for providing a differentiated experience to its delivery partners.

The centre expects to on-board about 200 delivery executives per day. The centre will also partner with players that provide loans and offers for getting a smartphone or a bike, exclusively designed only for delivery partners.

Top companies such as Ola and Uber are also providing insurance service for its driver partners. Last November, Uber rolled out Uber Care, a platform for thousands of driver partners who choose to drive using the Uber app. Uber had said that the platform provides easy access to term insurance from HDFC Life Insurance Company, a family health insurance programme from Reliance General Insurance Company and driver partners can also avail micro-loan(s) from Supermoney (GetClarity Fintech Services).